Apparatus for treating textiles



July 25, 1950 A. c. SMITH APPARATUS- FOR TREATING TEXTILES Filed Aug. 2,1946 INVENTOR.

AT TOENE r.

ADRIAN C. SMITH BY M Patented July 25, 1950 APPARATUS FOR TREATINGTEXTILES Adrian C. Smith, Cheltenham, Pa., asslgn'or to The PennsylvaniaSaltManuiacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application August 2, 1946, Serial No. 687,985

Claims.

This invention relates to the impre nation of textiles or similarmaterials with protective agents, in connection with dry cleaning orlaundry operations.

It is customary to impregnate articles of clothing and other textilematerials with protective agents, e. g., mothproofing agents, byincorporating the agent in a liquid solvent therefor, treating thetextile material with the resulting solution, e. g., by dipping, oftenfollowing by heating to remove excess impregnating liquid or someconstituent of this liquid such as the carrier for the protective agent.

In recent years it has appeared desirable to carry out such treatment oftextiles in connection with dry cleaning or laundry operations. Themethods and apparatus heretofore employed, however, for carrying outsuch treatment as an auxiliary operation to the regular dry cleaning orlaundry operation have been quite cumbersome, usually involvingconsiderable additional handling of the clothing or other textilematerial.

M invention comprises apparatus for carrying out such impregnation ofarticles of clothing or other textile materials in connection with drycleaning or laundering operations, having the remarkable advantage thatadditional handling of the clothing or other textile materials is almostentirely eliminated and the cleaned or laundered materials are uniformlyimpregnated with the desired protective agent with a minimum of effortand apparatus.

My new apparatus is a compact unit, readily attached to and detachedfrom, conventional laundry or dry cleaning equipment, for storing, usingand renewing impregnating liquid containing protective agent forincorporation in textile material in connection with laundry or drycleaning operations. In use this unit is associated with the extractorof the dry cleaning or laundry plant, 1. e. the centrifugal basket wherethe cloth or other textile material is whirled to remove most of thecleaning fluid, i. e., either the dry cleaning solvent or the aqueouscleaning liquid in the case of a laundry plant.

My unit includes a storage vesselfor the impregnating liquid, and aliquid-treating chamber so communicating with this storage vessel thatimpregnating liquid ma be readily conveyed to the liquid-treatingchamber from the storage vessel or to the storage vessel from theliquidtreating chamber or both. My compact unit also includes means suchas a conduit and spray head for conveying impregnating liquid intointimate contact with textile material in the centrifugal basket of theextractor of the dry cleaning or laundry plant as well as means such asanother conduit for withdrawing the impregnating liquid from saidcontact with the textile material and returning it to the storagevessel. All these parts of my apparatus as above described arepreterably arranged and associated so that they may be withdrawn as aunit from association with the extractor of the dry cleaning or laundryplant.

The accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this application,illustrates a preferred embodiment of my apparatus invention. In thisdrawing reference numeral I indicates a centrifugal extractor of alaundr or dry cleaning plant shown in a diagrammatic form, and 2indicates a perforated basket of such an extractor designed to berotated on a vertical axis by means of the shaft 3. Referenc numeral 4indicates a drain pipe from the centrifugal extractor, which maycommunicate with the usual storage vessels (not shown) for the cleaningfluids employed, or with a drain. The equipment so far described isconventional. equipment in a dry cleaning plant or a laundry, and isassociated with the conventional tanks, pumps, conveyors and filters(none of which is shown in the drawing) for handling the clothes and thecleaning fluid, i. e., vessels for agitating clothes with cleaningfluid, conduits for withdrawing cleaning fluid from such vessels as wellas from the extractor I, and pumps and conveyors to facilitate suchhandling.

The embodiment of the new apparatus of my invention illustrated in thedrawing includes the spray head 5 adapted to spray impregnating liquidon textile material within the centrifuge/basket 2, and a conduit 6connecting this spray head 5 with the storage vessel 1 either directlythrough the conduit 2| or through the conduits l3 and H, by means Of thepump 8, depending on whether or not the liquid in the storage vessel 1is kept under suilicient pressure to spray the liquid properly from thespray head 5. The pressure in tank I may be any convenient workingpressure, at, above, or below atmospheric. The drain 4 is connected byan easily removed connection 9 with storage vessel 1. This connection iseither directly through the conduit ill or indirectly through theconduits II and H, by means of the pump 8, depending on whether or notgravity is suflicient to drain the liquid from the extractor i into thestorage tank 1.

Reference numeral l5 indicates the liquidtreating chamber for treatingthe impregnating liquid contained with the storage vessel 1 to bring itup to desired strength in the protective agent content therein, as wellas to clean the impregnoting liquid if this is considered desirable. In

the liquid treating chamber II is a hibe head II and a series ofrelatively wide cylindrical tubes i1 communicating with the storagevessel 1 through perforated plates It. A supply of additional protectiveagent to be dissolved in the impregnating liquid, and preferably afilter aid as well, to clarify the liquid, are contained in thecylindrical tubes II as will be hereinafter described. Impregnatingliquid is brought to the liquid-treating chamber I! through the conduitit by means of the pump 8 either from the storage vessel 1 ordirectlyfrom the extractor I through the conduits provided as shown in thedrawing. Various valves are provided in the conduits shown in thedrawing, indicated by the reference numeral 20 in each case, to makepossible the alternative connections and operation of the unit as abovedescribed.

As can readily be seen, my entire apparatus for the handling and use ofimpregnating liquid is associated in a single compact unit that can bewithdrawn in a body merely by breaking the connection 8 and lifting thespray head out of the -extractor. I- wish to emphasize that the tank Iand the other princlpaielements of my new unit are separate and distinctfrom the vessels and conduits used to handle the cleaning fluid, exceptfor the connection which may be made to the drain l.

Many variations in the design of my new unit are obvious. Thus thetube-head chamber It may be looked upon, or may be associated with, anadditional storage vessel for liquid eilluent from the extractor (forexample the connection 9 may be to a sump tank, not shown, for storageof dirty impregnating liquid, and this sump tank may connect with thechamber I5 through a pump) and the storage vessel 1 may be employed onlyfor fortified and clarified liquid.

The apparatus of mylnvention may advantageously be employed toimpregnate articles of clothing with solid or liquid moth proofingagents in connection with dry cleaning operations, and the process of myinvention, as applied to dry cleaning operations, will for conveniencebe described with reference to the drawing. Thus in a conventional drycleaning process the clothes will have been agitated with dry cleaningsolvent in the usual equipment before introduction of the clothes intothe extractor I. In the extractor I most of the dry cleaning solvent isremoved from the clothes by centrifugal force. In conventional drycleaning operation, the clothes may retain, as residual fluid aftercentrifuging, up to about 10% of the dry cleaning solvent.

In order to incorporate in the clothing a moth proofing agent such as2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid,hexachlorocyclohexane or DDT, the agent may be dissolved or suspended ina solvent similar or identical to the dry cleaning fluid, e. g.,Stoddard solvent or carbon tetrachloride, and the resulting solutionplaced in the storage vessel 1. As above described this impregnatingliquid may then be sprayed into the almost dry clothing through thespray head 5 and, simultaneously or subsequently, the centrifuge may beoperated to remove excess liquid; after a suitable time of treatment,the liquid containing moth-proofing agent will have displaced theresidual dry cleaning fluid already in the clothing. Eiiluent liquidfrom this treatment is withdrawn from the conduit 9 either directly backto the storage vessel I or to the 4 liquid-treating chamber II as abovedescribed.

v The concentration of protective agent in the impregnating liquid maybe so calculated that the residual liquid that cannot readily be removedfrom the clothes by centrifuging contains just the amount of protectiveagent it is desired to incorporate in the clothes. For example, Stoddardsolvent containing from 5 to 6% dissolved DDT will leave, in usualcentrif g operations, the desired amount of from 0.2 to 0.6% DDT in thedried clothing.

In order to maintain the desired strength of rotective agent in theimpregnating liquid, some impregnating liquid is passed eithercontinuously or intermittently through the liquid-treating vessel asabove described. The tubes H in chamber It may be charged withclose-fitting cylindrical cloth bags containing-a fixed proportion ofcomminuted filter aid and protective agent mixed together. Thesechargesof filter aid and protective agent form the subject matter of a.copending application filed December 6, 1949. The proportion ofprotective agent in each bag may be so fixed that replacement of all oredited proportion of the bags in the tubes II, for each batch ofclothes, reenforces the impregnating liquid with the proper amount ofprotective agent. Suitable protective agent for use in connection withdry cleaning operations include DDT, 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid,2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, or hexachlorocyclohexane formoth-proofing cloth; chlorinated parafiln, paraffin, waxes, stearicacid, or silicones for waterproofing cloth; or phenyl mercuric acetateor salicylate for protecting cloth against mildew. Suitable filter aidsfor admixture with protective agent to clarify the impregnating liquidwhile it is being fortified include activated fullers earth,

activated bentonite, activated carbon, etc.

In laundry operations the clothes will have been agitated with watercontaining soap and the usual cleaning aids, and will usually have beenrinsed, before incorporation of protective agents into the centrifugallydrained clothes. Since the textile material in the case of laundryoperations contain residual aqueous liquid, the protective agent whichit is desired to incorporate in the textile will generally also bedissolved in an aqueous liquid. By this means a moth-proofing agent suchas zinc fluosilicate may be incorporated in clothing; or agents formildew-proofing, e. g., agents such as phenyl mercuric acetate, may beincorporated in the clothing. Concentrations and proportions will ingeneral be calculated and regulated for laundry operations just as inthe dry cleaning operations above described.

The above discussion relates chiefly to textil treatment by replacementof residual dry cleaning or laundering fluid, retained by the clothingafter centrifuging, with a solvent or carrier containing dissolved ordispersed material which imparts special properties to the clothing.However, the apparatus of my invention may also advantageously be used,in a substantially identical manner, to treat the clothing withmaterials capable of being preferentially absorbed on the fabrics. Forexample, in treating clothing .with aqueous solutions of zincfluosilicate, it is unnecessary so completely to displace residualliquid from the clothing, since the clothing tends to absorb the zincfiuosili'cate from the solution.

The commlnuted filter aid and protective agent is used in suitablequantity for clarifying and reinforcing the impregnating liquid. Such acomosition will generally contain from about 25 to 8 98% filter aid,preferably from about 50% to 95%. In a typical operation such cloth bagmay contain, for example 2 lbs. of a moth-proofing agent such as DDT and2 lbs. of a filter aid such as activated bentonite, for use inmoth-proofing textiles in connection with dry cleaning operations; or 1/2 lbs. of a water-proofing agent such as stearic acid and 1% lbs. of afllter aid such as activated bentonite for water-proofing textiles inconnection with dry cleaning; or 2 lbs. of a watersoluble moth-proofingagent such as zinc fluosilicate and 2 lbs. of a filter aid such asactivated carbon for moth-proofing textiles in connection with laundryoperations.

Many modifications are possible in the apparatus of my invention asabove described without departing from the scope oi the invention. It isintended that the above description 01' my invention should beinterpreted as illustrative, and the invention is not to be limitedexcept as set forth in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for impregnating textiles with a solvent carriedprotective material, a pump having a fluid intake and a fluid exhaust, atextile treating chamber, a conduit for fluids connecting said textiletreating chamber with said pump intake, a conduit for fluids connect-.ing said textile treating chamber with said pump exhaust, a storagecontainer for a liquid solvent, a solvent treating chamber in fluidcommunication with said storage container, a conduit i'orfluidsconnecting said storage container with said pump intake, and a conduitfor fluids connecting said solvent treating chamber with said pumpexhaust.

2. In an apparatus for impregnating textiles with a solvent carriedprotective material, a pump having a fluid intake and a fluid exhaust, atextile treating chamber, a conduit for fluids connecting said textiletreating chamber with said pump intake, a conduit for fluids connectingsaid textile treating chamber with said pump exhaust, a storagecontainer for a liquid solvent, a

solvent treating chamber in fluid communication with said storagecontainer, a conduit for fluids connecting said storage container withsaid pump intake, a conduit for fluids connecting said solvent treatingchamber with said pump exhaust and valve means disposed in at leastone'oi said fluid conduits for regulating the amount of impregnatingsolution passing therethrough so as to control the condition or theimpregnating solution which enters said textile treating chamber.

3. In an apparatus for impregnating textiles with a solvent carriedprotective material, a pump having a fluid intake and a fluid exhaust, atextile treating chamber, a conduit for fluidsconnectingsaidtextiietnatingchamberwithsaid textile treating chamberwith said pump exhaust,

pump intake, a conduit for fluids connecting said textile treatingchamber with said pump exhaust, a storage container for a liquidsolvent, a solvent treating chamber in fluid communication with saidstorage container, a conduit for fluids connecting said storagecontainer with said pump intake, a conduit for fluids connecting saidsolvent treating chamber with said pump exhaust and valve means disposedin each of said fluid conduits for regulating the amount of impregnatingsolution passing therethrough so as to control the condition of theimpregnating solution entering said textile treating chamber.

4. An apparatus as described in claim 3 in which the solvent treatingchamber comprises a closed container having a fluid inlet, a fluidoutlet and a section for holding charges oi filter and solubleprotective material, said charge holding section comprising a pluralityof longitudinally extending compartments, the compartments extending inthe direction of solvent flow and each compartment being provided at itsfluid exit end with a perforated closure to prevent escape of saidcharges.

5K1. an apparatus for impregnating textiles with a solvent carriedprotective material, a pump having a fluid intake and a fluid exhaust, atextile treating chamber, a conduit for fluids connecting the lowerportion 01' said textile treats ing chamber with said pump intake, aconduit for fluids connecting the upper portion of said REFERENCES CITEDThe following references are of record inthe flle 01' this patent:

STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 1,202,165 Conner Oct. 24, 19181,526,495 Hertler Feb. 17, 1925 1,711,774 Coleman May 7, 1929 1,937,256Taylor Nov. 28, 1933 2,206,179 Frank July 2, 1940 2,275,598 Muskat Mar.10, 1942 2,376,327

Chuck May 21. mt

